July 9, 2019 – Gettysburg, PA

What a day!  We are camping at Gettysburg Campground close to town, and highly recommend this as a stopping point if you are in this area.  Really nice, great amenities, and convenient to everything.

Woke up to amazing sunny weather, and a mild temperature in the 70’s, with a high of 86 today – perfect!  We have for the most part really lucked out with weather given the intensity of the weather systems throughout this region the past few months.  We had best laid plans to relax this morning, have coffee, eat breakfast (at the little café here in the campground), which was delicious, we gathered our stuff up, put Coco in the car with us, and not a sound at all when we pushed the ignition switch!  No matter what we did, nothing!  Called Good Sam Roadside Service, and they told us they could only tow it 10 miles, even though the contract in my hand said unlimited towing miles.  Irritated, we hung up, and called Chrysler Roadside Service (which we always forget we have), and they had a truck here in 10 minutes.  We were thinking they would have to tow it the nearest dealer about 45 minutes away, but he was able to get it going quickly.  But not before noting that several of our wiring harnesses were chewed by some evil rodent on our journey – could be squirrel, chipmunk, mice, not sure!    Coco is back in the camper, and off we go the dealer.   The guy at the dealer felt sorry for us given our travel plans, and managed to get us in for a look at the battery and all systems, and we now have a new battery, and $250.00 less in  our account!

Did you know that if you put moth balls in a knee high stocking or panty hose, and put that in the engine compartment, it’s a natural deterrent to the rodents?  So on the way home, we jump into a Family Dollar store to get those two items.  I was quite sure that there was no way we would find panty hose or knee highs.  That ship has sailed for me long ago, and really, does anyone wear those things anymore?  They had about 4 left on the shelf, and off we go with knee highs and moth balls!  Tonight they will reside in our engine compartment.

Managed to get back in time to enjoy our 2.5 hour auto audio tour of Gettysburg, and we really enjoyed it.  Learned many new factoids about the that battle, the incredible struggle on both sides, and the immensity and significance of this horrible battle.  This was the largest battle ever fought on North American land, and more than an estimated 51,000 soldiers from both sides died, and one civilian woman.  Farmers’ homes and barns were converted to battlefield hospitals, and the Confederates decimated many of the Union properties while here.  The National Park Service has done an impressive job of depicting the battle through its narrative, but also through the recognition of all the various military groups who fought here with memorials throughout the 6000 plus acres or 10 square miles that encompasses this battlefield. 

If you have never been here, it should definitely be on your bucket list.  It’s really a solemn and sacred place.

Off tomorrow to Cleveland, OH with the next few days spending only one night each until we reach Custer State Park in South Dakota on Sunday.  These next few days are our  hardest in the trip in terms of daily mileage and no particular interesting destination on this leg.

To top the day off, I had been smelling a musty smell in the car, and when pulling my camera out of the camera bag during our tour, it was soaking wet! Turns out our cooler behind Bob’s seat had the plug pulled, and water from melted ice leaked all over the back of the van behind our seats, soaking everything from camera, floor rugs, stowed seat, my meditation notebook, and numerous other things in the way. Life is good! Thank goodness for fair weather, and sun still high in the sky to help dry things out!

Oh, and Bob has impressed me with his walking agility …. He is black and blue on one foot from stumbling over who knows what on the journey, and the other toe he stubbed in the shower this morning and now we have a huge blood blister with a big old bandaid on it!  Stay tuned – we should have some great pictures in Custer for sure!